Chemical fire-extinguisher.



G. W. RANKIN.` V OHEMIGAL FIRE -EKXTINGUISHER. APPLICATION HLBD sur. la.1908` 923,076, 'Patented May 25, 1909.

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' yG. W.-RANKIN. GHEMIGAL FIRE EXTINGUISHBR.

APPLICATION IILED SEPT. 18. 1908.

928,076, Patented May 25, 1909.

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n No. 923,076.

To all whom it may concern:

i UNirED srArEs PATENT OEEIOE.

W. RANKIN, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO GLOBE FIRE APPARATUSCOMPANY, oE'JERsEY errY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION or NEw JERSEY.

CHEMICAL FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

kBe it known that I, GEORGE W. RANKIN,

a citizen of the United States, residing atV JerseyCity, in the countyof Hudson and State of New Jersey, havefinvented certain new and'usefulImprovements in Chemical FireeExtinguishers, and vI do hereby declarethe following to be ya-iiull, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements yinv chemical fire extinguishers,operated by hand,-and the object of my invention is to produce a simpledevice oi this character, whereby gasy or water charged with gas may bedirected upon the flames, and in which a mechanical yescape vent isprovided.

With this object in view, my invention consistsfof the construction andcombinations of claimed. y .n

In the accompanying drawings-Figure l parts as hereinafter described andc is a vertical cross section of a chemical iire extinguisher with myimprovements applied thereto., Fig. 2 is a cross "section of the upperpart'oi ya' modified form, the acid bottle having been inverted, andFig. 3 is a cross section of the modied form, after the acid bottle yhasbeen inverted, and showing the parts inposition ready to deliver gasupon the ire.

a denotes the body oi' the 'lire extinguisher oi' the usual cylindricalform, having` an upywardly yprojecting screw-threaded extension l) atits top,r` on which is screwed the cap c.

kd represents the discharge hose, which is connected with a pipe frunning nearly to the bottom of the body a.

To the cap c is secured by means of screws or otherwise, the open frameg, consisting of two upright rpieces connected together by a cross pieceat the bottom. In these upright pieces, is kp'ivotally mounted the frameVfor carrying the acid bottle,` the lower part of which is rectangularin shape, and three of the sides of which extendabout half way up thebottle It. The part i. of the lrame is made of resilient material, sothat the bottle may be easily' inserted or removed, and the part of theframe extends nearly the full length oi the bottley and terminates in acurved weight 7c, which partially encircles the neck of the bottle.f'llie' parts are so arranged that the yweight lowill turn the bottledown, as shown Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1909.

Application filed September 18, 1908. Serial No. 453,661.

in Fig. 2, when it is desired to use the apparatus.

The cap c is provided with a downwardly projecting central extension m,closed by a stumng nut n, suitable packing being provided and throughthis extension runs a rod o, which is provided with a metal cap p on itslower end, having a soit packing g which is adapted to engage with andclose the upper end of the bottle when it is in its upright position, asshown in Fig. l.

To the upper end of the rod o is attached a horizontal arm r, extendingin both directions from said rod, and the ends of this rod r are adaptedto engage with, or be disengaged from bent stops s, projecting upwardlyfrom the cap c, one or more of which stops may be used.

The upper part oi' the rod o is perforated, as shown at t. Theperforation passes centrally down through the tube for a certaindistance, and then out through its side, as shown in Fig. 1, terminatingin a horizontal perforation u. The parts are so proportioned that whenthe rod o is pressed down wardly so that the packing g will engage thetop ol' the bottle, as shown in Fig. l, the perforation u will be belowthe extension m, thus allowing a free escape lor the gas or air. rlhismechanical escape vent passing through the pull device, which isoperated to set the .machine in operation, is of great importance.

In the position shown in Fig. l, it permits air to pass freely in andout of the body c, which thereby prevents siphoning. This overcomes agreat fault which is incident to siphon extinguishers which do not allowfor the expansion of air. No discharge means are provided in suchextinguishers except through the outlet hose d. To prevent leaking, stopvalves are sometimes put on the end of the hose, but even under thiscondition, the hose is filled with water nearly all the time, which rotsthe hose and corrodes the stop valve so that it cannot be relied upon.to operate easily when needed.. Some manufacturers advise the water tobe put in the extinguisher at a temperature of 90 or 950 F., as thewater is then not likely to absorb any more heat, but after the watercools, this does not prevent siphoning in the apparatus. In my device,the inside opening u is closed when the machine is operated, by beingpulled up into the stufling box. A double protection is offered againstthe escape of gas through the cap, because the top of the metal casing pis pulled up against the stuffing box, thereby forming a tight seal. Astill further use of this gas vent is that it acts as a safety valveafter the machine has been in operation, in which case the rod o ispushed down. and confined in the position shown in Fig. l. The interiorof the body a is then in connection with the atmosphere, and any gaswhich may be in the body (L is permitted to escape, thus protecting theoperator i'romi injury which might be caused by unscrewing the cap whilethere is still gas pressure in the apparatus.

An advantage of my construction is that it is only necessary to move asingle part, the rod o, to start the evolution of gas. Thus there ispractically no difliculty due to corrosion, and if the operator i'ailsto pull the rod 0 up far enough, the pressure ol' the gas generated Will`force the part p tightly against the extension m.

Instead of using a hose, as shown in Fig. l, a revoluble dischargenozzle o, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 may be used. This nozzle is bent andits inner end is provided with a stuiling box and is incoinniui'iication with the pipef. The nozzle o is bent and is providedwith a handle w, so that it may be rotated, as desired. A furtheradvantage ol this construction is that the escape valve can be used as anozzle to direct gas, unmixed with water, upon a ilame. The parts beingin the position shown in Fig. 3, and the body a being held nearlyvertical, the operator puts his finger over the outlet end of the nozzle o, and the gas generated in the machine issues unmixed with Waterthrough the perioration t. It often happens that it is very desirous insmall ires to use gas alone. Thus where expensive curtains, draperies,paintl ings, bric-a-brac, etc. would be ruined or in- `iured by havingWater thrown upon them, the iire may oftentimes be put out by the use ofgas alone, without injury.

I claim:-

1. In a iire extinguisher, the combination of the body, an acid bottlepivotally supported therein, and a pull rod ior normally closing the topof said bottle,said pull rod having an aperture leading from theinterior of the body to the air when the pull rod engages with the topoi the bottle, substantially as described.

2. In a fire extinguisher, the combination of a body, a cap secured tosaid body, an acid bottle pivotally supported by said cap, and aperforated pull rod adapted to slide through said cap and to have itslower end engage with the top of said acid bottle, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a nre extinguisher, the combination ol' a body, a discharge hose,a pipe communieating with said hose, a cap screwed to the top of saidbody, said cap being provided with curved retaining means, a v[ramesecured to said cap and extending downwardly into said body, a weightedframe mounted in said 'first named irame i'or carrying an acid bottle,and a perforated pull rod passing downwardlj,Y through said top, andprovided with means i'or engaging the retaining means on said cap, andhaving at its lower end a metal plate provided with packing adapted toengage the top oi the acid bottle, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, l affix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE lV. RANKIN.

Wvitnesses z WVM. AUGUSTUS HOLT, JAMES J. BUELL.

